Haddox



June 19, 1956 HADDQX JR 2,751,068

VED STARTING APPARATUS VIBRATORY CONVEYER WITH IMPRO 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 12, 1950 /Nl EN 70/93 0 HADDOX JE, BY

VII

June 19, 1956 HADDQX, JR 2,751,068

VIBRATORY CONVEYER WITH IMPROVED STARTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 12, 1950 INVENTOR; ROY HADDOX JR ATTY.

K-si VIBRATORY CONVEYER WITH IMPROVED STARTING APPARATUS Roy Haddox, Jr., Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The leifrey Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Application September 12, 1950, Serial No. 184,438

2 Claims. (Cl. 1'98'-220) This invention relates to a mechanical type vibratory conveyor, and an object of the invention is to provide an improved starting apparatus therefor for reducing appreciably the starting current drawn by the operating motor of the conveyor.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of a vibratory mechanical conveyor incorporating the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing particularly the operating mechanism for a two-deck conveyor, including the starting pendulum of my invention, the section being taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, with parts broken away and omitted, showing particularly the starting apparatus and taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 shows a modified interconnection between the connecting rod, a lever or pendulum of the starting apparatus, and one of the deck connected counterweights; and

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of a portion of the vibratory mechanical conveyor, the section being taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. l.

The vibratory conveyor includes a base or main frame which may be formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending I-beams 13 interconnected at intervals by transverse cross members 11. The cross members 11 constitute brackets to which the lower ends of inclined cantilever spring bars are connected.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 of the draw ings there are four cantilever spring bars 12, two at each side and at opposite ends, which resiliently support a deck or trough 14 of the vibratory conveyor. A second deck or trough 15 is similarly supported by four cantilevers 12, the deck 15 being adapted to receive material from the deck 14 as it will be conveyed from the right to the left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, when the machine is in operation.

Positioned below the deck 14 is a counterweight 17, there being a similar counterweight 18 positioned below deck 15. Each of the counterweights 17 and 18 is supported by four cantilever springs 16 which are similar in all particulars to the springs 12.

It may be stated that the general construction of the vibratory feeder may, if desired, follow the construction disclosed particularly in the applications of James A. Flint, Serial No. 135,684, entitled Balanced Sectionalized Vibratory Conveyor, filed December 29, 1949, and since abandoned, and Serial No. 186,406, filed September 23, 1950, now Patent No. 2,669,344, dated February 16, 1954, and more specifically the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, thereof, except for such modifications as are hereinafter set forth.

nited States Patent 0 As illustrated in full detail in said Flint applications and as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, vibration is imparted to the decks 14 and 15 through a drive mechanism that includes a transverse horizontally extending shaft 39 supported in appropriate bearings 19 on a U-shaped yoke which constitutes the upper end of a pivoted arm 44 (see Figs. 1 and 2), the bottom of which is pivotally carried by bearing boxes 47 (see Fig. 1) mounted on the spaced rails 13 of the main frame or base 10. One end of the shaft 39 projects adequately to receive a drive pulley 48 (see Figs. 1 and 5) adapted to be driven from a motor 28 by a plurality of V-belts or the like.

The shaft 39 is provided with a pair of eccentrics 49 and 51 which are preferably 180 out of phase, each preferably having the same eccentricity relative to the spin axis of the shaft 39. Connected to be driven by the eccentric 49, which is actually two spaced eccentrics, is a bifurcated connecting rod or pitman 55. The eccentric 51 is connected to operate a connecting rod or pitman 65 having a head 66 pivotally connected to a pivot pin 67 through a rubber bushing, said pivot pin 67 being attached to a connecting bracket 68 which is rigidly attached to the counterweight 18.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings the counterweight 18 is rigidly attached to the deck or deck section 14 through brackets 20 and connecting plates or rods 69. It may be pointed out that deck or deck section 15 is similarly attached to counterweight 17 by brackets 22 and connecting plates or rods 60. The structure above described is disclosed in more detail in the above identified Flint applications, Serial Nos. 135,684, and 186,406.

One of the principal features of the present invention is that the pitman or connecting rod 55 does not directly interconnect its associated eccentric 51 to the deck 15 through the counterweight 17, but a spring restrained 'terposed between the two.

lever in the form of a pendulum mechanism 121 is in- The pendulum mechanism 121 includes a two-piece rod made of spaced elongated plates 122. To the lower end of the rod 122, 122 there is an adjustable weight 123 provided by a variable number of plates bolted together. The two-piece rod 122, 122 is pivotally attached on a transverse horizontal axis to a U-shaped yoke 124 by a pivot pin 125, the pendulum rod 122, 122 being maintained in proper lateral position relative to the bracket 124 by spacer blocks 126, one on each side thereof, which are rigidly attached to the opposite plates of the yoke 124 and through which the pivot pin 125 extends.

The yoke 124 includes a pair of laterally spaced upright plates which are rigidly attached to the counterweight 17 at their upper ends by attaching bolt and spacer means 127, and thus to deck 15, as clearly illustrated, particularly in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The connecting rod or pitman 55 is provided at its right-hand end, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, with a bifurcated bracket 128 which is pivotally attached by a bolt 129 to the upper end of the pendulum rod 122, 122. The pendulum rod 122, 122 thereby forms a first-class lever about the pivotal axis of the pivot pin 125.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings a third-class lever is formed by the pendulum rod 122, 122 in that the bracket 128 is connected by the pin 129 to the pendulum rod 122, 122 below the pivotal connection provided between the pendulum rod 122, 122 by the pivot pin 125. Otherwise the pendulum mechanism 121 of Fig. 4 follows that of Fig. 2.

The pendulum 122, 123 is restrained in its neutral or normal position as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings by means of a pair of opposed helical springs 130, 131 which are on opposite sides of the pendulum 122, 123. Adjacent inner ends of the springs 130, 131 bear against washers 132 and 133, respectively, which in turn bear against aligned and opposed ribs 134 welded to the insides of the plates 122 which form the rod of the pendulam.

Threaded through the two springs 130, 131 and the two washers 132, 133 is an elongated bolt 135, one end of which is rigidly attached to a cross-block 136 forming the base of the U-bracket or yoke 124. The other or outer end of the bolt 135 is provided with a nut and washer, as clearly illustrated in the drawings.

As above indicated, the function of the pendulum medianisrn 121 is to reduce the starting current drawn by the driving motor 28 when the conveyor unit is first started. This is accomplished by virtue of the fact that during the initial starting period the relatively heavy mass provided by the two decks 14 and 15 and the counwweights 17 and 18 is not vibrated through the complete amplitude of vibration realized during the subsequent normal operation. On the contrary, the initial emrgy imparted by the eccentric mechanism 49, 51 and 52 is utilized to swing the pendulum 122, 123 about 123 about its own pivot 125, and the vibratory motion a of the eccentrics will be eflective to vibrate the decks and counterweights at substantially full amplitude.

It will be seen that because the springs 130, 131- are mounted through the U-shaped bracket or yoke 124 and the counterweight 17 to the deck 15 that when the decks 14 and 15 are started to vibrate by the power operated means that the pendulum or. lever structure 121 will be swung upon its pivotal mounting 125 to overcome the centering or damping action of springs 130, 131 and that the pendulum structure or lever 121 will function as a pendulum or lever and that when the decks 14 and 15 attain substantially their full operating speed and amplitude that the pendulum structure 121 ceases substantially to function as such. When the latter occurs, the springs 130, 131 and pendulum 121 move substantially only bodily with the deck 13.

It has been found in practice that the arrangement of Fig. 4 is preferred where the operating frequency of the unit exceeds the natural period of vibration thereof. For example, in a unit where the natural period of vibration was 650 vibrations per minute and the operating frequency was approximately 700 vibrations per minute, the modification or arrangement of Fig. 4 is preferred. If the operating frequency is below the natural period of vibration the arrangement of Fig. 2 should be employed.

The net result of employing this pendulum or lever type or equivalent starting mechanism in the combination is that the rating of the motor 28 may be appreciably reduced. In one illustration it was reduced from S to 3 horsepower, the 5 horsepower motor only being required during the starting period, the 3 horsepower being adequate to maintain the unit in operation once it reached its normal operation.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the "spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and applicant therefore wishes not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A vibratory conveyor including a deck, power operated means for vibrating said deck, said power operated means including a motor, means connecting said motor to vibrate said deck, a lever interposed in said connecting means, pivot means mounting said lever to move bodily with said deck and at the same amplitude, and opposed spring means resiliently restraining pivotal movement of said lever with respect to said deck, and means mounting said spring means to move bodily with said deck and at the same amplitude whereby when said deck is being driven substantially at full amplitude said lever ceases substantially to function as such.

2. A vibratory conveyor including a deck, power operated means for vibrating said deck, connector means connecting said power operated means to vibrate said deck, a lever interposed in said connector means, pivot means mounting said lever to move bodily with said deck and at the same amplitude, spring means, means mounting said spring means to move bodily with said deck and at the same amplitude, said spring means resisting pivotal motion of said lever upon said pivot means whereby when said deck is being driven substantially at full amplitude said lever ceases substantially to function as such.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 786,337 Zimmer Apr. 4, 1905 1,986,102 Cole Jan. 1, 1935 1,997,499 'Schieferstein et al. Apr. 9, 1935 2,245,881 Vissac June 17, 1941 2,297,486 'Linke et al. Sept. 29, 1942 2,358,876 Overstrom Sept. 26, 1944 2,365,978 Strain Dec. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 339,206 Germany 0 July 16, 1921 

